Anchor-well and anchor



[Men fam' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROSS AND THOMAS VVINANS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

ANCHOR-WELL AND ANCHOR.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 31,276, dated January 29, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'we, Ross VVINANs and THOMAS IVINANS, of the city and county otl Baltimore and State of Maryland, have in? vented certain new and useful Improvements in Tater Craft to Facilitate the Dropping and Veighing of the Anchor and the Stowing Thereof, and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of our said invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which represents a vertical longitudinal section of a spindle-formed vessel with our improvement applied thereto. f

In vessels constructed in the ordinary manner, the cable of the anchor leads through a hawse-hole which is much nearer the water than it is expedient to carry the anchor; hence it is customary to hoist the anchor above the hawse-'hole up to a projecting timber, commonly called the cathead, by means of supplementary tackle provided for that purpose. In some cases a crane is employed in place of the cat-head, and the anchor is stowed upon the bulwarlts or upon the deck, where it is not in a convenient position to be let go with rapidity.

The principal object of our invention is to obviate the necessity of employing any other tackle than the cable itself to hoist and stow the anchor', and at the same time to stow it in such manner that it can be let go with rapidity when that operation becomes necessary.

To this end our invention consists in litting the vessel with an anchor-well (open at the bottom, of sufficient size to admit the anchor within it, and extending sutliciently above the water line to prevent the overflow of water into the hulk) and with a windlass or any other means of weighing the anchor so that the anchor may be hoisted directly into the body of the vessel.

Our invention consists further, in combining the anchor-well with an anchor having a lower end of such form that it closes the bottom of the anchor-well when the anchor is hauled up, so that continuity of the exterior surface of the shell of the vessel is not broken by any opening when the anchor is hoisted and the vessel is under way.

The accompanying drawing represents an application of our invention to a portion of a spindle formed vessel. In this example the anchor-Well, A, consists of a conical pipe, which extends from the bottom of the vessel upward, its upper end, b, being in close proximity with the upper part of the shell.

of the vessel; this anchor-well is made fast to the hull at the bottom thereof by means of a strong double flanged base, c, which forms the opening at the bottom of the hull through which the anchor is raised and dropped.` The anchor D in this example is of conical form, its butt m being of such shape that it closes the opening at the lower end Of the anchor-well. The cable of the anchor, represented in the drawing by the dotted line e e, is passed upward through the anchor-well to a pulley at the upper end thereof, and is conducted thence over a second pulley to a windlass, F, made fast to the hull in a convenient position for hoisting the anchor. Any other form of windlass, or capstan, or other apparatus suitable for raising a weight on board ship may be used in place of the windlass represented. AFrom this combination it results that the anchor can be raised to the position it is to occupy when the vessel is under way by means of the cable, and when so raised its butt closes the opening at the bottom of the anchorwell like a lid or cover', conforming nearly to the contour of the vessels bottom; moreover, the anchor in this position acts by its weight as so much ballast disposed in the most favorable location to maintain the vessel in an erect position, and is conveniently placed for being let go quickly when this operation becomes necessary.

lVhat we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is-

1. An anchor-well and windlass arranged substantially as herein set forth for the purpose of enabling the anchor' to be hoisted directly into the body of the vessel.

2. The combination of an anchor-well in the hull of the vessel with an anchor having a butt of the proper shape to close the orilice of the anchor-well when the anchor is drawn up.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

ROSS VVINANS. THOS. VINANS. Witnesses:

G. BEGKENBAUGH,

W. S..WILKINS0N. 

